{"product_id":"sunshine-state-essays-9780062434876","title":"Sunshine State: Essays","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLonglisted for the PEN\/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eF\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003einalist for the Southern Book Prize\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCritics' Best Books of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eAn NPR Best Book of the Year \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eNYLON\u003c\/em\u003e Best Nonfiction Book of the Year \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBuzzfeed \u003c\/em\u003eBest Nonfiction Book of the Year \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eAn \u003cem\u003eEntrophy Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBrooklyn Rail\u003c\/em\u003e Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBaltimore Beat \u003c\/em\u003eBest Book of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003cem\u003eParis Review\u003c\/em\u003e Staff Pick \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e Exciting Book for 2017\u003cem\u003e - \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/em\u003e Culture Index Reccomendation\u003cem\u003e - \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eBuzzfeed\u003c\/em\u003e Most Exciting Book for 2017 \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/em\u003e Great 2017 Book Preview Pick \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/em\u003e 2017 Preview Pick \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eNYLON \u003c\/em\u003eBest 10 Books of the Month \u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eA \u003cem\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/em\u003e 15 Books to Read This Month A \u003cem\u003ePoets \u0026amp; Writers \u003c\/em\u003eNew and Noteworth Selection - A \u003cem\u003ePW\u003c\/em\u003e Top 10 Spring Pick in Essays \u0026amp; Literary Criticism\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003e- \u003c\/em\u003eAn Emma Straub Reccomendation on PBS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"One of the themes of 'Sunshine State, ' Sarah Gerard's striking book of essays, is how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease.... The first essay is a knockout, a lurid red heart wrapped in barbed wire.... This essay draws blood.\" -- Dwight Garner, \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Unflinchingly candid memoir bolstered by thoughtfully researched history.... A nuanced and subtly intimate mosaic... her writing, lucid yet atmospheric, takes on a timeless ebb and flow.\" -- Jason Heller, NPR.org\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Stunning.\" -- \u003cem\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"These large-hearted, meticulous essays offer an uncanny x-ray of our national psyche... showing us both the grand beauty of our American dreams and the heartbreaking devastation they wreak.\" -- Garth Greenwell, author of \u003cem\u003eWhat Belongs to You\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSarah Gerard follows her breakout novel, \u003cem\u003eBinary Star\u003c\/em\u003e, with the dynamic essay collection \u003cem\u003eSunshine State\u003c\/em\u003e, which explores Florida as a microcosm of the most pressing economic and environmental perils haunting our society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the collection's title essay, Gerard volunteers at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a world renowned bird refuge. There she meets its founder, who once modeled with a pelican on his arm for a Dewar's Scotch campaign but has since declined into a pit of fraud and madness. He becomes our embezzling protagonist whose tales about the birds he \"rescues\" never quite add up. Gerard's personal stories are no less eerie or poignant: An essay that begins as a look at Gerard's first relationship becomes a heart-wrenching exploration of acquaintance rape and consent. An account of intimate female friendship pivots midway through, morphing into a meditation on jealousy and class.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the personal insight of \u003cem\u003eThe Empathy Exams\u003c\/em\u003e, the societal exposal of \u003cem\u003eNickel and Dimed\u003c\/em\u003e, and the stylistic innovation and intensity of her own break-out debut novel \u003cem\u003eBinary Star\u003c\/em\u003e, Sarah Gerard's \u003cem\u003eSunshine State\u003c\/em\u003e uses the intimately personal to unearth the deep reservoirs of humanity buried in the corners of our world often hardest to face. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGerard, Sarah:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eSarah Gerard is the author of the essay collection \u003cem\u003eSunshine State\u003c\/em\u003e, which was longlisted for the PEN\/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay, and the novel \u003cem\u003eBinary Star\u003c\/em\u003e, which was a finalist for the \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times \u003c\/em\u003eArt Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her short stories, essays, interviews, and criticism have appeared in the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times, T Magazine, Granta, The Baffler\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eVice, \u003c\/em\u003eand the anthologies \u003cem\u003eTampa Noir\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eWe Can't Help it if We're From Florida\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eOne Small Blow Against Encroaching Totalitarianism\u003c\/em\u003e. She lives in New York City with her true love, the writer Patrick Cottrell. Find her at Sarah-Gerard.com.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50727754301714,"sku":"9780062434876","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7b8a8813-fde9-4ebe-980c-016b4e0fd909.jpg?v=1734920970","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/sunshine-state-essays-9780062434876","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}